MELAKA: DAP has set its sights on recapturing four constituencies it lost in the 2021 Melaka election, as the party seeks to contest a total of eight seats in the upcoming state polls.
Melaka DAP chairman Khoo Poay Tiong said Duyong, Bemban, Pengkalan Batu and Gadek constituencies had been proposed to the Pakatan Harapan leadership at both state and national levels for allocation to the party.
“We have also submitted the names of our potential candidates to the party headquarters.
“Some are new faces, while others have contested previously and we will make an announcement in due course,” he said when contacted on Thursday (Sept 17).
Khoo said DAP also planned to defend its four existing seats, namely, Bandar Hilir, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana and Ayer Keroh.
“We have proposed eight constituencies for DAP to contest in the upcoming Melaka election,” he said.
The four state seats were won by DAP in the 2018 general election before three of the seats were wrested by Barisan Nasional and another by Perikatan Nasional in 2021 Melaka polls.
Asked about the possibility of an electoral pact between Barisan and Pakatan, Khoo declined to comment.
“I am not the appropriate person to answer that question. It should be directed to the relevant leaders,” he said.
Earlier, Melaka Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said DAP was free to decide how many seats it intended to contest.
However, he said any seat allocation would be determined only through negotiations and an agreement between the parties concerned after dissolution of the state legislative assembly.
Ab Rauf, who is also the Melaka Chief Minister, said every party had the right to determine its own electoral strategy and declare its interest in any constituency.
“If DAP wants to contest 10 or even 20 seats, that is entirely up to them. It is their party.
“My responsibility is to safeguard the interests of my own party and I will not stop them because it is not my role to look after the interests of other parties,” he added.
